Computer build ready to buy, tips?

Alright, I've been planning this computer for about a month now going over value for price and my budget and all that and I've come up with what I think will be a very nice build. It is right at the tip of my budget and I can really not afford to go any higher, if theirs any tips on something I don't need or something less expensive that's just as good whatever let me no, or if something won't be compatible ha ha. Thanks. I'm buying everything from Tiger Direct simply because it is nearby and i can afford to drive there without paying shipping (Y) Also keep in mind imm planning on upgrading in the future as well. Mostly this willk be used for 3d animationg, heavy video editing and games

MOBO:MSI P55-GD85 Motherboard

CPU:Intel Core i5 750

GPU:XFX ATI Radeon HD5770

RAM:Kingston HyperX 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Memory

PSU:Ultra X4 750-Watt Modular Power Supply

Case:NZXT LEXS-001BK Lexa S Crafted Series Mid Tower PC Case

Monitor:BenQ E2420HD 24" LCD Monitor

HDD:Western Digital WD10EARS Caviar Green Hard Drive

DVD Drive:Lite-On IHAS124-04 Internal DVD Writer

The Whole lots comes to be about: $1656.38 thats with taxes included

 

I would get a Corsair HX750W. It has higher efficiency and build quality as well as a better warranty, but the X4 is ok. Get a black WD Caviar HDD not green (black has higher performance) and I would also go with a Gigabyte motherboard (I've had 2 MSI mobo's DOA), something like a GA P55A UD6 if you dont plan on crossfiring.
Have you tried newegg.ca for better prices, they seem a little high at the moment.

Thats just me but what you have chosen is good.

*EDIT:
I would get a Corsair HX750W. It has higher efficiency and build quality as well as a better warranty, but the X4 is ok. Get a black WD Caviar HDD not green (black has higher performance) and I would also go with a Gigabyte motherboard (I've had 2 MSI mobo's DOA), something like a GA P55A UD6.
Have you tried newegg.ca for better prices, they seem a little high at the moment.

Thats just me but what you have chosen is good.

 

Looks good except for the monitor and the PSU. Ultra PSUs are pretty crappy, and not a component you should skimp on. Go for a Corsair VX 550W or something like that. No need to go complete overkill with a 750, the system you listed is only going to use around 190-210W anyway.

Motherboard is fine, MSI stuff is quite reliable, but they do still use the old socket design which doesn't work too well with overclocking. If you want to overclock, get a Gigabyte P55A board. Once again, no need for complete overkill like the UD6, a UD3 or UD4 will be fine.
Lastly, Benq is a pretty tacky brand for displays. I'd advise you to look at stuff by Viewsonic, Samsung, Dell, HP and LG insyead.

Oh, and another thing, the WD10EARS is designed for data storage, not as a main system drive, it'll be too slow for that. Either add an additional drive, or swap it out with a Caviar Black (WD1001FALS or WD1002FAEX).

 

Haha yea I like to have too much power. (Tim the toolman comes to mind )
If you go for a UD3 use the spair coin to get a 5850.

*EDIT:
The X4 doesnt seem to be that crappy, I must admit I havnt had any personal experience with them and wouldnt pay that price for them.
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=907&pageid=6

 

Given the cost difference between the boards, and the fact that a better monitor is ideally needed, the gap in the budget is not going to cover the upgrade cost for a 5850, that will cost a substantial amount extra.

 

That monitor is fine for a 5850 & the difference between a UD6 and UD3 is $165 (In Australia that is) thats a fair amount to put towards a 5850.

 

It's nothing to do with the size and resolution, it's just that Benq quality is low quality tat, and he should be using a better brand. He wasn't considering the UD6, but the MSI GD85, which is $90 more than the suggested P55-USB3. An HD5850 is $150 more than an HD5770.

 

Who suggested the USB3?
To a certain extent it does matter about the size & resolution, a 4200 series for isntance couldnt power that screen while playing most games on high settings/high resolution.

I know he didnt suggest the UD6, I did. He has picked one of MSI's higher end boards so I was suggesting the equivalent Giga counterpart. Yes the 5850 is much more expensive but he can still put the spair coin towards it and I dont think he mentioned a budget either. He may already have the money for it but I'm guessing now.

 

Sorry, was confusing threads, I did in another thread. Even so, the P55-USB3 is adequate for all but heavy overclocking, it's still a well-specified board.
Onboard HD4200 effectively can't handle any modern games at any resolution. However, since a dedicated card is going to be used, that's less an issue. An HD5770 is not ideal at 1920x1080, and yes an HD5850 would be a better buy. However, it really comes down to how set on performance and graphical detail the user is. If they don't mind not being able to turn stuff up, they would be better off getting a decent quality screen. If they have to have the best performance possible, they should either get a 5850 and swallow the extra, or get a 1680x1050 screen instead, or both.

 

Mm I perhaps have gone overboard with the motherboard
I assumed because he had a a higher end MSI he would want a high end Gigabyte, but realistically yours is a better cost/performance ratio.

May I offer this alternative, somewhere in the middle..

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 209
MOTHERBOARD: Gigabyte P55A-UD3 150
(superior Marvell chip to the USB6)
RAM G.SKILL Ripjaws 4GB (F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH) 143
GPU: HIS 5850 320
OPTICAL: Lite-On IHAS324 39
PSU: HX 650 (VX 550 out of stock) 130
HDD: WD 1TB Caviar Black 100
MONITOR: Samsung P2250 220
CASE: NZXT 100

TOTAL: 1411 (ALL PRICES OFF NEWEGG.CA)

 

Alright, thanks for all your help guys, and i haven't been on here to respond myself but I see you two had a nice little discussion

Alright here's what I've decided is gunna work pretty good, and still be good somewhat down the road, kgtrain I could not find the monitor you posted on Newegg, and I suppose I could use help with choosing that as I have not decided. Also I have decided to move on to Newegg as it is better .

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 $209
MOBO: Gigabyte P55A-UD4P (for $50 more on the UD3 I liked the features)$200
RAM: Corsair XMS3 4GB 1600MHZ $138
GPU: Saphire Toxic Radeon HD5850 (you both convinced me to upgrade and this sucker has all the features, also in future i will prolly buy another to crossfire) $390
PSU: Corsair TX750 (is actually cheaper than the HX650 right now) $120
Optical: Sony Optriac still prefered for price $25
HDD: WD 1TB Black Caviar WD1001Fals 100
CPU Cooler: Zerotherm Core92 $30
Case: Raidmax Aztec $85

That puts me at about 1,300 without the monitor which I still can't decide on, hows that look guys?

edit: I'm looking at this monitor on Newegg, ASUS VE246H Black 24" 2ms, 50000:1, 1920x1080, HDMI port (I also plan to run my PS3 off of it maybe and this supports 1080p)

A lot of the reviews said its a good monitor, and I really like the specs of it, or would ASUS just be a dumb choice for a monitor? What you think?

 

Don't buy the Toxic HD5850, you're throwing $70 away on a bigger cooler you don't need, the 5850's stock cooler is perfectly adequate.
Cooler you've chosen is pretty naff, either spend more or don't bother, the stock cooler gets the job done without overclocking. Recommended alternative is something like a Thermalright Venomous X.
I assume you realise how horribly tacky and cheap Raidmax cases are, the Aztec included. $85 is a lot to pay for a pile of cheap plastic. For less than that you can buy a Coolermaster HAF 922, which is a vastly better case.
Asus monitors have reasonable reviews, but I still don't like the quality of anything Asus produce. Stick within the brands I suggested earlier.

 

Your build is almost the exact one I built about 2-3 months ago I'm using the corasir 450 and ripjaw 2 gig and its running gr8. the power your going be using looks a little high even if you overclock a 600 should be enought. you could save a bit with the down grade.
the saphire graphics card I also have it works gr8.
as a build its really good but have you looked into a ssd for performance and a caviar green for storage with all the money you saved from changing builds. If you look at my post in building you'll be able to see my final build hope this was some help good luck on your build

 

The 550W VX unit will work fine for that system, so yes a 750W is overkill

 

I'm planning on getting the 750 power supply just cause its only $30 more, and it allows for me to crossfire 2 5850s in the future.

I decided to get a Coolermaster RC 690 case, cause its huge and supports 5 120mm fans, not a clear side but oh well.

As for the monitor I'm gunna hold off on that for a while, and as for a CPU cooler I'm also gunna hold off on, so I won't overclock till that point. Everything else from my last post remains the same however.

 

Just curious what would the max power-supply wattage be needed for this system?

core i5 750
Gigabyte P55A-UD4P
Corsair XMS3 1600mhz 4GB (also will add more RAM)
GPU x2 XFX HD5770 XXX edition
Sony Optriac
WD 1TB Black Caviar WD1001Fals

(adding a blue-ray player on later)

 

I believe you can buy a side panel for the RC690 that does have a clear side.
The amount of power your system will use at full load will be around 300-320W at full load, so as you can see, wattage is almost completely irrelevant for your system. The quality brand is what matters.

Why would you buy two 5770s though, and especially why would you buy the XXX versions? The only reason to do that would be if they were identically priced to the stock 5770.

 

Alright so im gunna go with a corsair 550VX for the psu then cause it supporst crossfire

and I dunno much about video cards, I read that 2 5770's is better than a 5870 and this way my wallet stays happy. As for the XXX versions from what I had read I got from it that the stock versions cannot overclock without the voltage going all haywire, or something to that extent?

 

Not true really, the 5770s can overclock beyond what you get with an XXX edition without messing with the voltages at all, people also often criticise XXX editions (and similar pre-overclocked cards) for being unreliable. Two 5770s can beat a 5870, just about, in the best case scenario. Often, however, they won't, as Crossfire is never 100%. Ultimately you really want to go with a 5850 or 5870 instead.

 

Just a quick question sammorris since you've been so helpful. The P55A-UD4P board says when crossfired USB 3.0 and Sata III work at normal mode, does that mean it reverts them back to 2.0 and II? I looked around to find details on this but had no luck, thanks.